Too Many Cooks In The Kitchen

Cubs 2 Rockies 4

It was Aaron Cook's night. The Rockie right hander held the Cubs to 1 run on 7 hits through 7 innings. The sinker-baller was on, getting ground out after ground out. Rusch did a pretty good job tonight, but the defense...oh the defense. Walker's 4th error of the year in the 1st allowed the 2nd run of the inning and the Rockies never looked back.

The Cubs did not play bad tonight. A game like this in May or June is fine, not a big deal, but in August when you are fighting to get to .500, it cannot happen. They had a chance in the 8th, but left the bases loaded down 3-2. DLee doubled for the second time in the game and Ramirez singled him home, Burnie singled and Barrett walked. With one out and the bases loaded Perez popped up to the short-stop and Mr. Patterson hit the first pitch to second. Ground out...inning over.

I have always liked Corey Patterson, until recently. It appears that he has all of the talent in the world to make himself one of the best players in the game. But for some reason, he thinks he can do things he clearly cannot. He has trouble focusing during ballgames. Patterson has more mental breakdowns that an institution. Corey has world class speed, but he chooses to swing for the fences everytime he gets to the plate. Of Patterson's 12 home runs this year, 11 are solo. That is not a team player. Sacrifice yourself for the good of the team and good things will happen for you. When Derrek Lee was asked earlier in the year about how important winning the Triple Crown would be to him, he response was 'I would rather win in October'. That is a team player. I would imagine we are all watching the last of Corey Patterson's career in Chicago. Don't let the door hit you...

Sunday - Greg Maddux(10-9/4.40) vs. Jeff Francis(11-9/5.87)

This one is HUGE. A win tomorrow puts the Cubs back to 2 games under .500 going home to face the Braves. The Wild Card is still there, but barely. With the loss tonight, they are 5 1/2 behind Philadelphia. Maddux's last 2 outings were the best he has pitched all year. He has to do it again. Francis is a good young pitcher, but the Cubs got to him big in Chicago on May 29th. They got 5 runs on 9 hits in 5 innings. They need that again. Dusty needs to be very aggressive tomorrow with his game plan. Francis is a rookie, run on him, make them make plays, do not wait for the breaks, make them. Change the line-up. Hit Nomar in the 2nd spot, or even Barrett. Move Todd Walker out of the 2 hole. Put him in a position to drive in runs and give Ramirez or Burnie some protection. Just a thought....

That famous lady is starting her warm ups....just win!!!